This invention relates to a crimp state estimation apparatus for a crimp contact terminal that can estimate the crimp state without actually prototyping a crimp contact terminal and a quality determination apparatus for a crimp contact terminal that can determine whether the crimp contact terminal is good or bad based on the estimated crimp state.
Various electronic machines are installed in an vehicle as a mobile unit. Thus, in the vehicle, a wire harness is installed for transmitting predetermined electric power and signals to the electronic machines. The wire harness includes a plurality of electric wires and connectors attached to ends of the electric wires, etc.
Each electric wire includes a conductive core wire and an insulating sheath for covering the core wire. Each connector includes a terminal fitment attached to the electric wire and a connector housing for housing the terminal fitment. The terminal fitment is implemented as a conductive metal sheet, etc. The terminal fitment is electrically connected to the core wire of the electric wire. The connector housing is made of an insulating synthetic resin and is formed like a box.
The wire harness has the connectors connected to connectors of the electronic machines, etc., for transmitting predetermined electric power and signals to the electronic machines.
A crimp contact terminal may be used as the terminal fitment of the wire harness described above. The crimp contact terminal includes a bottom wall for positioning the core wire of an electric wire on a surface and a pair of crimp pieces upright from both margins of the bottom wall. As the crimp contact terminal has the crimp pieces bent toward the bottom wall, the core wire of the electric wire is attached to the top of the bottom wall. Thus, the crimp contact terminal is fixed to the electric wire as the core wire is crimped with the crimp pieces.
In the wire harness described above, a plurality of types of electric wires different in the outer diameter of core wire are used. Thus, it is desirable that the crimp contact terminal should be used for crimping different types of electric wires.
To develop the described crimp contact terminal, a prototype of the designed crimp contact terminal is manufactured. The crimp contact terminal is actually crimped onto different types of electric wires, and whether the designed crimp contact terminal is good or bad is determined. Thus, the time period taken for developing the crimp contact terminal is prolonged and the developing cost is increased.